


Turned to Blue

by sister_wolf



Category: Hard Core Logo (1996), Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-07
Updated: 2006-06-07
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_wolf/pseuds/sister_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some guy in L.A. called them up and offered them seven thousand dollars to get rid of a ghost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turned to Blue

Dean hates going to California. Hates the bruised look it puts into Sam's eyes, the way he withdraws into himself. Hates that it makes him push and poke at Sam until he finally snaps and fights back. Hates that California reduces him to this, to acting like an asshole just so that he can get a reaction, any reaction, from Sam.

Dean generally tries to avoid California at all costs. But then some guy in L.A. called them up and offered them seven thousand dollars to get rid of a ghost. Dean had been momentarily shocked into silence-- no one _paid_ them to hunt things, certainly not that kind of money-- and the guy had just sighed impatiently and upped it to nine. He'd been half-tempted to try to bargain it up to ten, but he figured that'd probably be pushing it. So, California it is.

The house is fucking _huge_. Dean stares up at it and has visions of the Playboy Mansion. Hey, maybe if he's lucky, this guy will have hot chicks wandering around in bikinis inside.

"Who did you say this guy was?" Sam asks. He doesn't look awed by the mansion at all. 'Course, Sammy got used to hanging out with rich kids at Stanford, didn't he.

"Billy Tallent," Dean shrugs. "He plays guitar in some lame-ass Top 40 band."

Sam's eyes widen in fake surprise. "Wait, you actually know bands from this _decade_? I thought that was against your religion."

Dean rolls his eyes and cuffs Sam across the back of the head. "Twerp. Guy offers us nine grand and you think I'm not gonna do some research?"

Inside, it's all white furniture, white walls, and art that looks like a three-year old smeared fingerpaint on a canvas. Rich people are weird.

The guy is kind of a surprise. Place like this, Dean would figure that whoever owns it wouldn't dress like he picked up most of his clothes at Goodwill. But, hell, it's probably all designer clothes that are made to look like crap but actually cost a thousand dollars apiece. Maybe he _should_ have tried bargaining for more money.

Dean zones out while Sammy does the make-nice-with-the-civilians thing. Tunes back in to the conversation when Sam starts asking about the ghost. The guy says he was haunted by this ghost before, about ten years ago. But then one day it just went away and it's been quiet ever since, up until about three months ago when everything started back up again.

They go through the standard questions: yes, it happens when he's away from the house, too; no, he's never hired anyone else to try to deal with the ghost; no, he doesn't know why the ghost went away in the first place or why it came back; no, he doesn't have any idea why it's haunting him. Dean exchanges a glance with Sam. They both know that he's lying.

Sam leans forward, looking all earnest and trustworthy. "Mr. Tallent."

"Billy."

"Billy. We can't help you if we don't have all the facts."

"You can't just-- do an exorcism or something?" He takes a pack of cigarettes and a zippo out of his shirt pocket, lights a cigarette with unsteady hands. Smiles apologetically at them, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "Sorry. Bad habit. Quit for a while, but with all this..."

"I understand. I'm sure this is very stressful for you," Sam says, laying it on thick. "But no, in order to get rid of a ghost permanently, we have to destroy whatever is anchoring the ghost to this world. Most often, that's the corpse, but sometimes ghosts latch onto objects or places that were important to them while they were alive. So if you know anything more about the ghost, please, tell us."

Dean sees Billy flinch at the word 'corpse.' Interesting. "So, Billy, you know anyone who died suddenly? Could be someone who left something undone in the mortal world. Could be a suicide, or maybe a murder..."

"Fuck off, I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're implying." Billy takes a deep drag off his cigarette, lets it out slowly. "No, it was a suicide. Son of a bitch killed himself."

"Who?" Sam asks.

Billy's hands are shaking as he stubs out his cigarette. "Joe. Joe Dick."


End file.
